Remember to Breathe
by TheMusicalDevil
Summary: ON HOLD Catharina Shaw has lived her entire life in her father's shadow, never spending any time with people her own age. Now she has a chance to change that. She can make friends, dance, laugh, play like she has never done before. And will any of these friendships develop into something else?
1. Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own any familiar characters/settings/plot featured in this story. They all belong to 20th Century Fox.

* * *

**1.M**emories

* * *

"**Vater?" (Father?) Catharina questioned quietly as she picked her way over the rough carpet to where her father was standing at the window, drink in hand. She was not used to wearing the small heels her father had picked out for her, and the red dress picked out for her was squeezing her stomach painfully. But she didn't complain. She couldn't; knowing what the man standing by the window would do to her if she did. She still had the marks from last time. "Gibt es etwas da drauβen?" (Is there something out there?) There was no reply, and so Catharina continued on her small journey towards the window. She arrived, and worming her way past her father, she put her hands on the sill, looking out onto the rainy, muddy lane.**

"**Du siehst, dass, Tochter?" (You see that, daughter?) Catharina peered out, watching the bedraggled men, women and children pass by.**

"**Was ist passiert?" (What is happening?) As she continued to view the scene, a boy about her age caught her eye. He was screaming for something; someone.**

"**Das man wird interessant sein." (That one will be interesting.) Her father muttered under his breath, obviously not meaning for Catharina to hear. She kept her mouth shut, not wanting to anger him. The boy started to run forwards, but the gate closed in front of him, clearly separating him from whomever he was trying to reach. But that didn't deter him, and he continued to run, only stopping when he was grabbed from behind and hauled backward. He carried on screaming, and more guards came to restrain him. He had a hand held out towards him, and to Catharina's utmost surprise, the gate began to crumple. Literally. Her father made a pleased sound and turned from the window to look down at her. "Das ist die Zukunft." (This is the future.) He didn't elaborate, and Catharina didn't ask. "Jetzt gehen. Ich habe Sachen zu tun." (Now go. I have things to do.) Catharina bobbed a little curtsy and obediently left the room.**

* * *

"-Vater, bitte! Ich will nicht um den Schmerz zu fühlen-"

* * *

"**Kann ich reinkommen?" (Can I come in?) There came a small voice behind the door of Sebastian Shaw's office. The voice received no reply, and so as she had been ordered to go to her father, the small girl from behind the door pushed open the entrance only to gasp in shock. Catharina's wide-eyed gaze surveyed the scene before her, her mind struggling to take it all in. A song was playing on the gramophone; 'La vie en Rose', which Catharina somehow recognised. As she stood in the doorway, she saw two figures standing just in the entrance to the rather disturbing room next to her father's office that was filled with knives and other things Catharina's young mind couldn't possibly hope to comprehend, and said room was completely and utterly destroyed. She recognised her father as one of the figures, but did not know the other. Taking a step forward, Catharina stumbled and almost fell. She looked down, gasping again in horror. Three bodies lay on the floor; two soldiers, whose heads looked to have been squashed by their helmets, and a woman, lying face down on the wooden floor. Catharina bent to turn the woman over, but was interrupted.**

"**Catharina! Rührt sie nicht!" (Do not touch her!) She flinched back, looking up at her father.**

"**Es tut mir leid, Vater." (I'm sorry, Father.) Shaw nodded and beckoned the other figure over.**

"**Erik, kommen." (Come.) The figure slowly dragged his feet over to where Catharina and her father were. The small girl straightened, now recognising the figure as being the boy in the rain.**

"**Hallo, Erik." She greeted quietly, knowing that was what her father wanted her to do.**

"**Ich weiß, Sie einsam sind, Catharina. Und so habe ich Sie einen Freund gebracht." (I know you have been lonely, Catharina. And so I have brought you a friend.) She nodded, giving the boy a tiny smile, which was not returned. Shaw left the room, trusting his daughter to befriend the boy.**

"**Mein Name ist Catharina." Shaw's daughter supplied, before taking the boy's arm and making to lead him out the room. But before she was able to do so, she was stopped as Erik dropped to his knees next to the woman on the floor.**

"**Mama!" He wailed. Catharina knelt next to him, hoping her father wouldn't mind her getting her new green dress a little dirty. She soothed the boy as best she could, before again taking Erik's arm and escorting him from the room, to hers. She had a job to do.**

* * *

"-Was willst du von mir?-"

* * *

"**Erik? Bist du da drin?" (Are you in there?)**

"**Ja, ich bin hier." (Yes, I am here.)**

"**Werden Sie die Tür öffnen?" (Will you open the door?) There was a long pause as Erik considered Catharina's request. But before long, the door creaked open and Erik's pale face appeared in the small crack between door and wall.**

"**Was ist das?" (What is it?) He questioned. Catharina looked slightly offended.**

"**Hast du vergesst?" (Did you forget?) Erik frowned. Catharina gave an overly dramatic sigh and forced her way past Erik into his pitiful room. She looked around as she always did, wondering why her father made Erik live in such a sorry room when him and her were living in comfort. Erik hadn't replied to her question, and so she carried on, rolling her eyes. "Weißt du, was das Datum ist?" (Do you know what the date is?) Erik shook his head. "Es ist mein Geburtstag!" (It's my birthday!) Erik's eyes widened.**

"**Alle Gute zum Geburtstag, mein Freund." (Happy birthday, my friend.) He said, giving Catharina a very small, very rare smile. This caused the birthday girl's face to light up in happiness.**

"**Danke, Erik." (Thank you.) She replied softly. Looking around again, she gave a small sigh, the smile slipping off her face. Her father had forgotten her birthday as well, and had sent her to be with Erik, as he did when he didn't want her around. Catharina was a clever girl, and knew there were some things her father didn't want her to see. But what? Erik broke her train of thought by coming up to her and handing her something very small, that glinted in the light. "Was ist das?" (What is that?) Catharina asked, eyes round in curiosity. Erik's cheeks went ever so slightly pink, and he thrust out his hand, gesturing for the small girl in front of him to take the present. Catharina, very gently, reached out her own hand and took the small golden locket. "Erik…" She breathed, not needing to say anything more. She flung her arms around the boy, squeezing him tightly. She thanked him repeatedly, until Erik lightly pushed her back, telling her to stop. He explained that it had been his mother's, at which point Catharina tried to give it back; to let Erik keep the last piece of his mother. But Erik wouldn't let her. He insisted that he would rather her have it; that she had a better chance of keeping it safe than he did. After a lengthy debate, Erik won and Catharina attached the necklace around her neck, underneath her heavy dark-blonde ringlets. She thanked Erik again as she looked down at the locket. Inside it, there was a picture of a young, smiling Erik and in the other compartment, nothing. Erik explained that he had taken out the picture of his mother as he wanted to keep it for himself, which was what Catharina would have insisted he do had he not done it already. She felt awful for depriving him of his mother's last possession, but as it was a heart-felt gift, she could not return it nor refuse it. "Danke, Erik. Bis bald!" (Thank you Erik. See you soon!) She added as she heard a knock at the door. It was time for her to leave.**

* * *

"-Ich habe bereits alles für Sie tun-"

* * *

**Catharina returned to her room, and as soon as she was certain that she was alone, took off the necklace to examine it again. It was truly a beautiful gift. She wondered where his mother had gotten it from, for it must have been expensive. It was a silver locket, trimmed in gold. The gold parts were done so that it looked almost like flowers surrounded the middle silver section. Catharina was really touched. She wasn't sure why Erik had given her such a present, but she was grateful that he had. She finally had a friend.**

**A few days later, Catharina was again in her room when there came a knock at the door.**

"**Catharina. Ihr Vater anfordert Ihre Anwesenheit." (Your father requests your presence.) The girl in question nodded to the guard at the door, indicating that she would only be a moment. Taking the locket from where it was hidden underneath her mattress (unoriginal, but effective), she attached it around her neck, making sure that it was hidden as well as it could be.**

**Opening the door, she followed the guard, and soon arrived at her father's office. Entering, she stood demurely before the desk, waiting for him to look up and acknowledge her. It took a while, and when he did, his eyes narrowed, focusing on a point just below her chin. He stood up rather violently, and Catharina flinched back as the chair scraped harshly across the wood.**

"**Vater?" She questioned, but received no reply. She was about to back away as her father made his way around his desk towards her, but held her ground. Her father hated it when she backed away or showed any signs of weakness. In a few seconds, Shaw was standing directly in front of his daughter, glaring down at her. Reaching out his hand, he took the locket and **_**pulled**_**, snapping the chain and yanking it off Catharina's neck. Catharina stared in horror, before immediately trying to regain possession of the necklace. Shaw held it up high, out of her reach, and examined the contents. He looked down at his daughter with an amused glance, before striding over to a window, opening it, and throwing the locket out. Catharina was speechless in shock, mouth open. Shaw smirked, before telling her off in their native language.**

"**So, little Erik is sweet on you, hmm? Well, we'll soon fix that, don't worry. And as for you…" Catharina again held her ground as her father loomed over her. "What to do with you…" Shaw mused thoughtfully. Catharina's heart began to pound. What was wrong with having the locket? "I'm afraid you won't be seeing much of Erik from now on. It seems your relationship has gotten out of hand. Catharina paled, but didn't protest. There was no point. "Now leave." Her father commanded, and she gratefully fled.**

**Only once she was locked in her room did she allow the tears to come forth.**

* * *

"-Ich schwöre, ich werde alles, was Sie von mir verlangen zu tun-"

* * *

**The next time Catharina saw her only friend was months and months later. She had, of course, seen him around, and had often briefly talked to him before her father had dragged him off. It had been explained to the small girl why the boy was dangerous, but she didn't care. She frequently disobeyed her father and attempted to reach Erik's room, but was **_**always**_** stopped by someone. Her father was making it quite clear that he didn't want his daughter to see the 'metalbender' any more. But Catharina was her father's daughter, and wasn't prepared to give up that easily. But try as she might, she was never alone with her friend for any length of time.**

**Catharina had been called to her father's office, as she often was, and upon entering, was frozen to the spot in shock. The desk, which usually occupied the eye as one walked in had been pushed over to the window, and in its place there was what looked like a large bathtub. Her father was leaning over it, hand submerged. He looked up as soon as he heard the door open.**

"**Catharina!" He exclaimed, immediately telling her to leave until he was done. But she had already seen, and so ignored her father, rushing over to the tub and peering in. To her absolute horror, she could see Erik immersed in the water. "Ich sagte zurückerhalten!" (I said get back!) Shaw swept his free arm towards his daughter, meaning to push her away, but she ducked and grabbed for her friend. Erik rose out of the water, coughing and spluttering. Catharina had no idea why her father was practically drowning him, and she didn't care. She could feel her anger rising. Facing her father, the two stared at each other, both glaring. Catharina could see her best friend choking out water out of the corner of her eye, and she lost it.**

**The next moment, her father was completely drenched, similar to how Erik looked. To Catharina's surprise, Shaw's face lit up in a grin.**

"**Fantastisch!" (Fantastic!) He cried. "Meine eigene Tochter. Wunderbar!" (My own daughter. Wonderful!) Finally, guards came rushing into the room and forcibly dragged Catharina from the room. The last thing she saw before the door closed in her face was Shaw's sadistic grin as he turned to Erik.**

* * *

"-Nein, Vater, bitte-"

* * *

**The next day, Shaw came rushing into her room, waking her. He demanded she pack her things, as they had to leave right away. He gave her 5 minutes, and told her that if she wasn't done, he would leave without her. Catharina had no desire to be left behind, despite what Shaw had done the previous day. And so she packed her things, and when the 5 minutes were up, her father came in again, and they left the only home Catharina had ever known.**

**On the way to wherever they were headed, Shaw explained to his ignorant daughter about mutants. She didn't know why she was being told about this, until Shaw described what had happened yesterday. Apparently, she had controlled the water in the tub and moved it towards her father, splashing him with tremendous force. Shaw told her what he could do with energy, and even demonstrated it for her. And that was the end of Catharina's innocent childhood.**

* * *

"Now, now, Catharina, don't use your gift against me. Emma and I are only trying to help you. If you embrace your pain, you can use it to aid you in becoming even more powerful. Don't you want that? All of us, together. Ruling the world. There will be no one who can stop us. You, and I, and Emma, and Azazel, and Riptide; we shall look down upon the humans and laugh as they destroy each other. They are close already, so very close. They just need a small nudge in the right direction. And you, Catharina, can help. Just _embrace_ the pain. That's it. Now, are you going to try and stop me from doing my duty?"

"No, father."

* * *

_A/N: Hey guys! Woah, I haven't posted on here in so long. It feels weird. But I'm back, with a new story! And a new obsession with James McAvoy... no regrets._

_So, this is a typical OC insert. I'm sorry for being so mainstream, but I had an idea, okay? (If you dare comment 'okay.' then I will hit you). I hope you're interested so far! If anyone wanted to know, the untranslated German bits mean:_

-Father, please! I do not want to feel the pain-  
-What do you want from me?-  
-I have already done everything for you-  
-I swear I will do anything you ask of me-  
-No, Father, please-

_I am not German, and sadly don't speak fluent German, so 99% of the German in this chapter (and in the following chapters) comes from Google Translate. If you're a native German speaker, and are cringing at the bad German, please PM me with the correct versions! I will be forever in your debt._

_Anyway, I just wanted to thank my fabulous beta, EmpressOfDalmasca, for being so... well, fabulous! Go check them out!_

_If you've read this far, then I bow to you. Personally, I would've stopped by now. I'll try and make my A/Ns shorter from now on. I just want to say that I stole the disclaimer thing from silver pup. They are amazing._

_Please review! They encourage me to post more :D_

**§TheMusicalDevil§**


	2. Swimming

Disclaimer: I do not own any familiar characters/settings/plot featured in this story. They all belong to 20th Century Fox.

* * *

**2.S**wimming

* * *

Catharina gasped for breath, holding onto the side of the boat and panting. Combing her fingers through her knotted, hair, she glanced up at where Riptide was standing, watching her curiously.

"How long was that?" She questioned him, already mostly recovered. Riptide checked the clock she had given him.

"3 minutes and 16 seconds." Catharina made a face, letting go of the yacht and letting herself drift in the calm water.

"I can do it for longer." She said, referring to what she had previously been doing; holding her breath. "I did it for almost 5 minutes once." She sighed, manoeuvring herself so that she was floating on her back. Staring up at the clear blue sky, she felt rather reflective. She was sure she would have done some sorely needed hard-thinking, had she not felt a presence in her mind. "_What is it, Frost?_" She questioned.

"_Your father wants to know what you're doing._" Came the reply. Catharina mentally rolled her eyes at her father. He was always worrying about where she was and what she was up to. She had a suspicion that he wasn't as sure of her loyalty as he was of the rest of the 'Hellfire Club', as he had termed it. As his daughter, he knew that she had his traits, and kept a close eye on her, whether it be physically or mentally.

"_Swimming._" Catharina replied finally, realising that she hadn't given an answer to the blonde telepath. "_Tell him I'm in the sea by the front of the yacht._" She knew to give a full reply, or Shaw would come and search for her. "_Now get out of my head_." Catharina focused hard on the sky, slamming up mental walls. At her father's insistence, Emma had shown her how to do this, just in case. She had to concentrate intently on something very particular, and then the only thing that could be seen by whoever was trying to access her thoughts would see was whatever she was concentrating on, in this case, the sky. Of course, a powerful telepath could break the walls down, and Emma had demonstrated this on several occasions, but Catharina was getting better. She hoped.

Emma had retreated out of her mind, and Catharina was finally alone. She ducked under the surface of the sea again, pulling herself down until she could see the bottom. Looking around, she was struck, as she always was, by the beauty of the underwater world. Sunlight glinting off scales, schools of fish darting over and around and through whatever stood in their path; Catharina loved it. All alone in her submerged realm, with no father to tell her what to do and no telepath to force her to do it. She giggled as one of the aforementioned schools of fish brushed past her, releasing precious air up to the surface. Watching the bubbles float up to the seam between worlds, she noticed some people peering down at her from up on the yacht. Sighing internally, she _felt_ the water around her and manipulated it, pushing herself up towards the surface.

Breaking through, she immediately saw her father relax. So he hadn't believed Emma. That gave Catharina a certain sense of power; the fact that her father wouldn't believe a _telepath_ that she was alright, he needed to come and see her himself. And then she was annoyed. Didn't he trust her? Obviously not, and for good reasons, too. She didn't know exactly what he was doing, but she knew it was bad. She wanted no part of it, and thankfully, her father allowed this, as long as she didn't try to stop him. Her father beckoned her up, and so lazily, she swam around to where she could get onto the yacht, and pulled herself up. Grabbing her towel from where she'd put it, she wrapped it around herself and made her way up to the main deck, purposely taking her time.

Upon reaching the top floor, her father instantly started talking to her.

"Catharina. Finally. What took you so long?" He questioned. Catharina didn't answer, knowing he was about to go on. "Go and put some clothes on. We have a visitor." She rolled her eyes, looking down at her bikini. It covered the important parts. What was wrong with it? But knowing better than to argue with Sebastian Shaw, she retreated to her room, quickly pulling on a pair of shorts and a loose t-shirt, before coming out again. The mentioned visitor had already arrived.

"Well, so much for the pleasantries." Her father was saying, before she caught his attention once again. "This is my daughter, Catharina." He introduced. She gave him a small smile and a nod of her head, the latter of which was returned. "I was wondering who you told about our little arrangement." Shaw continued, putting a cigar to his lips. Catharina strode past the unfamiliar man and took a seat on a spare sun lounger. Which just happened to be opposite her _favourite_ telepath. Fantastic.

"No one." The man had announced in response to her father's question. Shaw glanced over to Emma, who looked like she was suppressing an eye roll.

"He's telling the truth." She confirmed.

"Good." Catharina adjusted herself so that the sun's rays could get to as much as her as possible. Not that she needed to tan. She was already rather brown. "Well, I guess we're done here." Except everyone knew that they weren't. Not when Sebastian Shaw was involved. "Let's wrap things up, shall we?" Riptide began to move towards the man, but to prove her point; a grenade was pulled out, which the man held up in front of him in defence. Riptide was grinning.

"Oh, I knew better than to trust you. Now, you let me walk out of here with my money," Shaw had come around the small bar he had previously been behind and was now advancing towards his 'guest'. Said visitor was slowly backing away, still holding up the grenade. "Or I will pull this pin, and we _all_ die." Catharina had to repress a snort. This was not going to end well for him.

"Go ahead. Pull it." Shaw challenged, not looking at all worried. Why would he be?

"I'll do it, I swear to God!" The man declared. He brought his free hand up to grasp the pin on the side of the grenade. Shaw came right up to him, and brought his own hand up to take the weapon.

"No, you won't." He said, and pulled the grenade out of the other man's grip. "But I will." Shaw activated the grenade, much to the horror of the guest. But Catharina watched as her father used his mutation to absorb the energy. She yawned, hoping it would be over soon.

"You're one of them?" The man asked, clearly terrified.

"Very astute of you, Colonel Hendry." So _that's_ what he was called. Nice to know. "You want to guess what I can do? I've got the power to absorb energy. It keeps me young. But that's the boring part. The fun stuff is what I can do with it once I've got it." To demonstrate this, Shaw reached out a hand and gently tapped Hendry on the shoulder, transferring the energy. As Hendry's body wasn't built to withstand said energy, he, of course, exploded in what looked like a burst of light. Catharina rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that day.

"Are we done now?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at her father. Shaw looked around.

"I think so." He nodded to himself; a good day's work. Catharina looked away, slightly disgusted. If Shaw couldn't have his way, things would get ugly, so he generally found a method to get what he wanted, one way or another. Shaw was distracted from his daughter by the arrival of Azazel, whom he immediately engaged, giving him instructions on what to do next. Catharina was kept in the dark as to what they were up to, which she was grateful for. She had never killed, but had seen many killings. Shaw had made sure of that. And she was pretty sure that her father was doing lots of killing at the moment, which was part of the reason she didn't want to be involved.

Catharina stood up, seeing that she had been forgotten about, for the time being, at least. Making her way inside, she wandered slowly to her room. The sea wind blew her hair into her face as she made her way to the small cabin designated to her, making her splutter. Annoyed, she brushed her hair behind her ears as she opened the door to her compartment and entered. Looking around at the familiar walls, her eyes stopped on the chest of drawers by the side of her bed. Walking slowly over to it, she opened the top draw and reached to the very back of it, pulling out a necklace. She remembered where she had gotten it.

A few years ago, Shaw had taken his small group to England for one reason or another. Catharina had been left in the middle of a shopping centre with a credit card, and the first thing she did was to head to a jewellery shop. She looked at all the lockets, but couldn't find the one she wanted. And so she found a shop where they actually made necklaces, and described the one she wanted.

After a few hours of awkwardly wandering around (Catharina hated shopping), the necklace was finished. It was perfect. She thanked (and paid) the shopkeeper, and left. Sitting on her own in a café, she ran her fingers over the design. It was exactly like the one she had been given by a certain Erik Lehnsherr. Well, almost.

Putting the necklace around her neck, Catharina flopped down onto her bed and closed her eyes. Her mind drifted as she relaxed fully and began to dream.

* * *

"She's dreaming about Erik again."

"Erase it from her mind. I do _not_ need a lovesick daughter. Why is she thinking about him, anyway? That was years ago."

* * *

_A/N: Hey again! Thanks for all the follows and favourites! And even some reviews! They really make my day._

_So I got asked what Catharina looked like, so if you continue reading this paragraph, you shall find out. I had a think, and I picture her to be a quite short (as in, shorter than Charles short) girl (obviously) with sea-blue eyes and brown hair that has lighter brown, almost blonde ends. Hope that satisfies!_

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry it was a bit short and pointless. I promise the following chapters will be longer. _

_Again, a bit thanks to my beta, __EmpressOfDalmasca_.

_Please review! It really makes my day seeing reviews in my email :)_

**§TheMusicalDevil§**


	3. Too Cold

Disclaimer: I do not own any familiar characters/settings/plot featured in this story. They all belong to 20th Century Fox.

* * *

**3.T**oo **C**old

* * *

"Catharina, breathe!" Catharina jolted upright, panting. What had she been dreaming about? Looking up, she saw Riptide leaning over her, her hands fisted in the front of his shirt.

"What is it?" She asked him, slightly annoyed. He shouldn't be in her room.

"You were having a nightmare." Catharina frowned, letting go of him.

"I can't remember what it was about." She shrugged it off. "Am I needed?" Riptide nodded. Catharina breathed out heavily and swung her legs off her bed, standing. "Lead the way." She said, mock saluting the mutant in front of her. Riptide looked like he was trying not to roll his eyes, but took the young woman back out onto the main deck of her father's yacht. As she left her room, she looked out over the water. It was now night-time, and she felt uneasy not being able to see everything around her.

"Catharina?" Riptide questioned. She turned to him, eyes reluctant to leave the sea.

"It's nothing. I thought I saw…" She moved her shoulders up in a shrug. "Something." Riptide glanced at the water, but obviously couldn't see anything, as he continued on his way. Catharina cast one more look at the rippling waves before following.

"You wanted to see me?" Catharina asked as she arrived on deck. Her father didn't respond right away, preferring instead to finish his conversation with the blonde telepath on the sofa next to him. Shaw's daughter rolled her eyes, shifting her weight onto one leg and preparing to wait, as she always did. Riptide went over to join her father.

Seeing that Shaw wasn't going to stop talking any time soon, Catharina turned her back and wandered over to the railing. She leant on the barrier, relaxing in the sea air. This was where she was at home.

"Herr Doktor_._" She didn't register the deep, vaguely familiar voice at first. She turned instinctively, and saw a tall, handsome, soaking wet young man standing with something in his hand.

"Kleiner Erik Lehnsherr." (Little Erik Lehnsherr.) Shaw said, smiling. Catharina's eyes widened. What? She stepped forward unconsciously, and Erik's eyes snapped to hers. There was a moment of recognition between the both of them, and Catharina's mouth opened to say something.

"He's here to kill you." Emma's eyes tightened, and Erik grabbed his head, groaning in pain. Catharina strode forward to stop the telepath, but found that after a few steps, she couldn't move. She scowled at the blonde, trying to push her from her mind, but failing.

"What kind of a greeting is that…" Shaw asked in Erik's native tongue. "After all these years?" Erik was looking up at Catharina's father, and something shifted in his expression. He brought his arm up, releasing the object in his hand. Emma changed into her diamond form, and caught the knife before it impaled Shaw. Erik's countenance changed, and he charged towards Catharina's father, only to be stopped and thrown overboard with a splash. Finding herself able to move again, Catharina immediately rushed over to the side and peered into the dark waters. There was no sign of her childhood friend. She turned to yell at the telepath, but her father beat her to it. "Emma…" Shaw clicked his tongue as Emma changed back into her usual form. "We don't harm our own kind." Catharina snarled at them.

"What was that for?" She shouted. Shaw ignored her, instead facing away from her, where a ship was revealed to be situated.

"Ah! Now it's a party!" He exclaimed. Catharina clenched her fists, furious. How could they? It was _Erik_! She had thought he was dead! And now to have him come back, only to be thrown away from her yet again. Quite literally! She began to speak again, but she was drowned out by the voice that could be heard from the boat opposite them.

"This is the US Coast Guard." It began. "Do not attempt to move your vessel. Stay where you are." Catharina could see smaller boats moving towards their yacht, and she could just about make out dark shapes of men on them. This wasn't going to end well. She could feel it.

"They have a telepath." Emma said, and her eyes narrowed, obviously doing something with her mind. There were other telepaths? Catharina moved to stand at the railing closest to the boat, gazing out at it in curiosity. Riptide joined her, and held up his hands in a familiar gesture. Catharina stepped to the side as the mutant next to her created whirlwinds with his hands, releasing them when they were too large to hold. Shaw glanced at his daughter, obviously wanting her to help Riptide. She frowned at him.

"They will take you too. You are my daughter." Shaw said with a little smile. Catharina sighed, reaching inside of herself and _feeling _the water around the small boats. She made said water begin to move, forcing it to get choppier to upset the dinghies. Catharina couldn't help but grin when her and Riptide's work was done, and the whirlwinds and waves had, plunging the men in the boats overboard. There was a certain beauty in it. She wondered what the telepath and whoever else was on the other boat thought of it. Most likely that it was destructive and a hindrance, which was, of course, true. Shaw was speaking to the others, but Catharina ignored him, as she always did, watching the sea. There seemed to be no immediate action from the ship, but there was likely to be some soon enough. They wouldn't have come this far to give up now. Why were they here, anyway? What had her father done this time?

Something else caught her attention; the sound of what seemed like chains being lifted from the water. Catharina turned around and craned her head upwards to see the fetters tying the boat to the bottom of the sea being raised clean out the water. Oh dear. She glanced over at the other boat, and could see some small figures looking in the same direction. Had they planned this?

"Time to go." Shaw said, taking Emma's arm and leading her into the ship. Riptide went to do the same for Catharina, but the yacht suddenly jerked violently, and she lost her balance, slamming her head into the railing. Staggering upright again, she could see the chain bearing down on her, and no one in sight. With no other option, Catharina took a deep breath and leapt into the ocean.

After just about managing to flip herself into a not-so-graceful dive position, Catharina plunged into the sea and almost let go of all her oxygen at the shock of how cold it was. She almost blacked out for a moment, and possibly did, as the next thing she saw was a sub detaching itself from the bottom of her father's now ruined yacht. Catharina stared in amazement. Shaw had a sub? He could've told her! As she continued to watch it, fins popped out from its side and it began to slice smoothly through the water. Her father was leaving her? Well, she supposed she wasn't important to his 'plans', whatever they were. Feeling a shadow pass over her, she looked up to see a figure being yanked through the water. Was that Erik? Starting to swim after this figure, she was ever more certain that it was. It looked as if he was trying to raise the submarine, but it wasn't working. He was being dragged deeper and deeper into the water, and soon was entirely encompassed by the sea, just like Catharina was.

The scene continued to unfold in front of her eyes. She began to swim up to help; Erik couldn't survive in these conditions, when another figure dove into the water and wrapped his arms around Erik. They struggled against each other for a long moment, before Erik seemed to finally relax and let the other person drag him towards the surface. Catharina watched as their heads broke the surface and they both trod water for a while. It didn't occur to her that, even though she could control water, she too couldn't survive in it. Her father had tested that theory many times, almost drowning her on several occasions. She went to take a breath, but found that, of course, she couldn't. Fear began to build in her chest as she began to kick her way manically up to the surface. She had been slowly sinking as she had been watching, and was quite deep under the water, much further than she thought she was. Reaching for her power, she found it hidden from her. No, not now! She choked, and gave another kick. She was _not_ about to drown. Water was _her_ element. She could control it, she knew it! But even as she thought this, she knew that she was too worked up access the part of her mind that allowed her to control the water. She screamed, whether out loud with the very last of her breath or with her mind, she didn't know. Black spots danced at the edge of her vision, and she knew she was fighting to stay conscious. Why was she reacting so badly? She'd been underwater for deeper and longer before. But she couldn't reason with herself; she was too afraid. That was the simple truth. Her father had abandoned her, and she was alone. Alone with the cold water, and with strangers who might want to kill her. Giving a final push, she could see the surface, just out of her reach. But as her momentum gave out, and her course reversed, she felt a hand grip her wrist, dragging her up towards the life-saving air.

Breaking through the thin barrier of water, Catharina clung onto her rescuer, still unable to breathe. She sensed a hand slapping her back, trying to get her to cough out the water in her lungs. She couldn't hear anything over the pounding in her ears. That was the closest she had ever come to dying.

Finally managing to get rid of the water in her system, she faintly heard a voice trying to reassure her.

"_Catharina, calm down. You're not going to drown. You're safe now. Calm your mind_." She didn't recognise the speaker, but she did know that somehow they knew her name. And that his (for it was a man) accent was dead sexy. Ignoring said accent, she forced a question out through her sore throat, and there was a pause before the voice answered. "_My name is Charles Xavier._" She wasn't interested in his name, she wanted to know how he knew _her _name. And why she could suddenly hear his voice so much clearer than before. "_I'm a telepath, and I'm here to help you._" Catharina didn't hear the last part of Charles' sentence; one word was flying around in her brain. _Telepath_. What had he seen? Did he know who she was? She immediately slammed up mental walls, focussing on just how cold she was. As she did so, she started to shiver, realising that she was actually freezing. She was still only wearing her bikini from earlier, and her shorts and a top.

Something was happening. She was moving through the water, slowly yet surely, and there were voices. Catharina couldn't concentrate; the cold was beginning to overwhelming her. Even in her current state, she knew that that wasn't good. She managed to catch fragments of speech.

"-here!"

"-too cold-"

"-just hang on-"

"almost there-"

Catharina was shocked into reality by somehow being lifted out of the water. Despite the temperature and the fact that she had nearly died, she still felt at home in it, as she had done her whole life. She started struggling weakly, but soon gave up when she realised she had absolutely no chance in her weakened state, and allowed herself to be raised to safety.

Focusing in on her surroundings, she found that she had indeed been lifted from the water, and was currently dangling in the air, being hauled onto the ship that had been opposite her father's yacht. This didn't alarm her much, as she knew she had done nothing wrong, except be born to Sebastian Shaw. Even if said man said that was what would get her killed by these people.

She was lifted over the side, and grabbed by strong hands. A warm blanket was immediately placed around her shoulders, and she pulled it into her body gratefully, taking the opportunity to glance around. There were a few people hovering around here, but the bulk of the crowd were gathered around someone else, whom she couldn't see because of this. However, the person being fussed over soon broke free of this gaggle and strode over to where Catharina was huddled in on herself.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Shaw's daughter gazed up at him (she was smaller than most). His short-ish hair was wet, and curled against his temples. He looked as bedraggled as Catharina felt. Recognising his voice as the one that had been inside her head, she was hesitant to reply, which he seemed to realise. "My name is Charles Xavier." He began, at which Catharina couldn't help but reply.

"As you have said." She retorted. He seemed startled that she'd responded, but carried on nonetheless.

"We are _not_ here to hurt you." He stressed.

"If you were, you would have done it already." Catharina told him, catching sight of another figure approaching them. This person she knew, and wanted to talk to much more than she did Charles. Catharina darted around the telepath just as the person coming towards them looked up, meeting her eyes. It _was_ Erik! She barrelled into her childhood friend, feeling his arms go around her. He made hushing noises, and Catharina realised she was shaking. Erik was speaking to her softly in German.

"It's okay… you're safe now. No one can hurt you here." He repeated other nonsensical phrases, trying to get the ever-so-slightly traumatised girl to relax. After a while, it began to work, and Catharina sagged marginally in Erik's arms. She felt herself drifting into a state where she was neither awake nor asleep, and in this state she felt herself being picked up and carried through the boat. She was placed ever so gently on a bed, and she finally, _finally_ fell asleep.

* * *

"Who is she?"

"I'm not sure. Somehow, she managed to block her thoughts from me, even though she's not the telepath. She seemed very worried that I could access her mind in the first place. But let her sleep for now. We'll talk to her when she wakes."

* * *

_A/N: Hello again! I'm sorry I didn't update this story yesterday; I had a friend round and it all got rather complicated._

_So, we finally meet Charles and Erik! Hopefully, things should be more interesting from now on. Any questions, just comment them in a review._

_Thank you for reading! Please review!_

**§TheMusicalDevil§**


	4. Many Meetings

Disclaimer: I do not own any familiar characters/settings/plot featured in this story. They all belong to 20th Century Fox.

* * *

**4.M**any **M**eetings

* * *

There was a persistent knocking in Catharina's head. She groaned, rolling over and pulling her pillow over her head. She was _not_ a morning person. The pounding continued, and as Catharina was reluctantly dragged from sleep, she realised that the thumping was not coming from inside her head, it was at the door. She levelled a glare at said door, not moving. Maybe if she didn't reply, they'd go away. Was it her father? Unfortunately, this tactic didn't work, as before long, the handle turned and the door opened. Standing in the entrance was a very pretty young girl. Catharina didn't care, and glowered at her. Who was she, anyway?

"What?" She asked bluntly, wanting to know why she'd been awoken from her sleep. The girl came a few paces into the room.

"You nearly drowned. I just wanted to check on you." Catharina looked at the girl for a few more moments, memories flooding back. Oh. Maybe she'd been a bit harsh with the girl. Sitting up, Catharina realised that her top and shorts had been removed, and she was now only in her bikini, which was now thankfully dry. "And to bring you some clothes." The girl came over to the side of the bed, holding out a pile of garments for Catharina to try on. "You're smaller than me, and these don't fit me, so they should fit you." Catharina nodded to her. "I'm Raven, by the way." Shaw's daughter looked curiously at the blonde girl. This was obviously a test, to find out her name.

"Catharina." She supplied, beginning to unfold the clothes given to her. With a smile, Raven left her to her own devices.

"I'm in the room directly opposite you when you're done, or if they don't fit." Was Raven's parting remark. "There's a bathroom next to you!" Catharina looked to her right; there was indeed a bathroom. Standing, she grabbed the clothes and wandered into the small adjoining room.

When she'd had her shower, she pulled the borrowed clothes on. There were a little big for her, but she could manage. After rolling up the bottom of the trousers, she felt something fall back onto her neck as she stood up. Looking down, she realised she was still wearing her necklace. It hadn't come off in her lovely little dip in the sea last night, for which she was very grateful. Catharina looked around her rented room, examining each corner. You could never be too careful. After all, she was the enemy's daughter. Finding no hidden explosives or anything along those lines, she was satisfied. They weren't going to kill her just yet. Opening her door, Catharina crossed the corridor and knocked on Raven's door. Said door opened immediately, and Raven stood smiling in the doorway.

"Ready to go?" She asked. Catharina frowned.

"Go where?" Raven laughed, coming out of her room and linking her arm with Catharina's.

"Go and meet everyone else, of course! They're all dying to see you." Catharina raised an eyebrow, both at what the blonde had said and what she had done. She longed to take her arm out of Raven's, but she didn't. Raven seemed like too much of a nice person, and Catharina didn't want to hurt her feelings. Raven began to tug the smaller girl along by her arm, impatient for her to meet her brother. They were in the main room of the ship, which they used for meetings, not surprisingly.

As the two girls entered, Catharina managed to extract her arm from Raven's, and everyone in the room looked up. There was Charles Xavier, Erik, and two other people, a girl and a rather large CIA agent in the room. Catharina felt rather uncomfortable. She wasn't used to being around so many strangers on her own. She had, of course, been around many strangers before, but she had always been with her father.

"This is Catharina." Raven introduced the girl to the rest, before going to sit next to Charles. Catharina stood under everyone's scrutinising gazes, trying not to show them how awkward she felt. Finally, someone spoke.

"Please, sit down." It was the telepath. Catharina glanced at him.

"I'll stand." She didn't trust them, even if they had saved her. Charles frowned, but didn't insist that she was seated, which she was grateful for.

"Could you tell us a bit about yourself? Why were you on Shaw's boat?" Charles continued. Catharina looked at him in disbelief.

"You mean you didn't see?" She asked, very surprised. The telepath shook his head. Catharina couldn't help but chuckle. "I'd rather not. You'll lock me up." The girl noticed Erik shifting uncomfortably at this. He met her eyes, trying to silently communicate that he wouldn't let that happen, despite his grudge against her father.

"We're not going to harm you." Charles said confidently. Catharina raised her eyebrows.

"I sincerely doubt that." She felt a slight pressure in her mind, and glared at the young man. "Hasn't anyone told you it's rude to read people's mind without their permission?" She asked, building up her defences. It was his turn to look surprised, as did everyone else in the room.

"My apologies." Charles said, and the presence retreated from her mind. There was silence for a moment, and Catharina took the chance to examine the people back in return. There was Erik, whom she knew, who looked as awkward as she felt. He wasn't trying to kill anyone this time, but still looked rather untrusting of everyone. Charles looked less dishevelled than last night, and actually looked very smart. She bet he'd graduated from college. The girl was sitting with Charles, and was talking to him in a soft voice. She fancied him. Catharina knew nothing else about her, though, which made her a little uneasy. She always liked to know whom she was dealing with. Raven was looking back at her, and gave Catharina a friendly smile as they made eye contact, which wasn't returned. And finally, the large CIA agent looked ecstatic at everything, really. What was with him?

She was forced to cease her examination by a familiar voice speaking to her.

"Du hast das Medaillon behalten." (You kept the locket.) Erik spoke to her in their native tongue. Everyone looked at him curiously. Catharina met his eyes.

"Näturlich. Warum sollte ich es wegwerfen?" (Of course. Why would I throw it away?) She decided not to tell him that her father had actually chucked it out of a window. That might hurt his feelings. "I don't have your picture, unfortunately. It got very wet." She continued, still in German. Erik looked slightly sad, and was about to reply, when someone clearing their throat interrupted them. Catharina looked at the telepath once more, eyebrows raised.

"We still need to know who you are." He said, looking a little annoyed and upset. Catharina sighed, glancing at Erik, who gave a small nod.

"As long as you promise not to shoot me." Charles' eyes widened slightly, as did most of the other people's in the room. "My name is Catharina Shaw, and before you ask, no, I do not know what my father is doing." There was utter silence. Catharina winced internally. Had that been too forward? But looking at Erik again, she saw him grinning slightly, so she can't have done much wrong. Everyone else's reaction was rather different. The CIA agent and the girl next to Charles immediately stood up, and Catharina saw them taking defensive positions. Raven looked shocked, but Charles not so much. He must have seen _something _in her mind, even if it hadn't been her identity. He waved the girl and agent down, and Catharina relaxed marginally.

"Charles, she's Shaw's daughter!" The girl protested.

"I know." Charles' voice dropped. "Moira, could you take…" He nodded towards the agent, "and check if we're nearly at the harbour?" The girl – Moira – glowered at him, but did as she was bid. Soon, it was only the four of them left. "As I have said, we are not going to hurt you, but we do need to know if you know anything about your father's plans." Catharina shifted her weight onto her other leg, thinking.

"I know that they're probably not very nice." She supplied unhelpfully. "I was kept in the dark about his ideas. Obviously, I'm not essential to them, or he would have taken me with him in his sub, which I didn't know he had, by the way." Catharina shrugged. "Sorry." Charles sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Thank you." He said anyway. "I'm afraid since you are who you are, you're probably going to be kept under surveillance until they can be sure they trust you." He continued, referring to the CIA agents. "The girl who was just here is Moira MacTaggert, and she works for the CIA, and the man was-" Here Charles stuttered. "I don't actually know his name. Do you?" He turned to Raven, who shook her head, before standing up to come over to the other girl.

"Don't worry, they're not going to do anything to you. I need to have a girl to talk to." Raven grinned, and received a small smile in return. Catharina appreciated that the blonde was trying to make friends with her, but she just wasn't used to having friends. She had lived her entire life just with her father, apart from the time when she knew Erik, and then she had lived with her father and his assembled mutants. She had never known true kindness. The telepath put two fingers to his temple, and Catharina watched him. She didn't trust him most of all. She did not like telepaths.

"We're coming into the harbour, and then we'll drive to the base." He looked up at Catharina. "Will you be coming with us?" He asked.

"Do I have a choice?" Charles looked slightly sad.

"Not really." And with that, Moira came back into the room, announcing that they were, indeed, at the harbour. The agent gave Catharina a hard look before forcing everyone out the room.

* * *

Catharina hugged her arms to her chest, scowling. Just because she was small didn't mean that she couldn't be crushed. Due to her size, she had been put in the middle of the car, in-between the telepath and the metal bender. Oh, and Raven. How had they managed to fit everyone in? Catharina was _not_ having a good time, and wasn't afraid to voice this. Everyone was glad when the journey was over.

As everyone got out the car, Erik leant over to the small girl, checking she was all right. She gave him a small smile, and then pushed him out of the car, immediately following.

"Welcome to my facility." The large CIA agent said, looking rather proudly up at the building. Catharina wasn't impressed. She'd seen better. She had been brought up to speed with what was going on, much to the annoyance of the agents. No one trusted her properly yet, apart from Erik, which she was fine with. She didn't trust them either. And she still wasn't sure how much Charles had seen when he had been in her mind. "My mission has been to investigate the application of paranormal powers in military defence."

"Or offense." Erik added, sharing a look with the telepath.

"This guy, Shaw, Schmidt, whatever you want to call him, he's working with the Russians. We might need your help to stop him."

"Marvellous." Charles remarked. Catharina raised her eyebrows at his back. Since when was her father called Schmidt? "So we're to be the CIA's new mutant division, yes?" There was a moment of silence as the agent looked at Charles, and glanced back at Shaw's daughter.

"Something like that." Catharina caught the glance, and rolled her eyes. Honestly. If she wanted to harm them, they probably wouldn't have been alive then.

"So are you a mutant?" Catharina jumped, and turned in the direction of the voice, preparing to attack. She relaxed slightly when she saw it was Raven.

"Are you?" She countered, still not sure how much to tell these people. Raven grinned, and suddenly Catharina was looking at a replica of herself. She stared in amazement, before Raven changed back into herself. "Please never do that again. That is scary." Catharina said.

"I can change into anyone." Raven boasted slightly. Catharina was impressed, despite herself. "So what can you do?" The blonde pressed. Shaw's daughter gave her a sideways look.

"I can't really do it here." She said truthfully. Well, half-truthfully. She could've done it there, but a) it was easier near a pool or large body of water, and b) she didn't particularly want the whole world to see. Raven raised an eyebrow, but didn't push the subject further.

And then they were inside the building, and Catharina looked around, automatically mapping out escape routes. They were taken up sets of stairs, and were lead into a lab. Hanging from the ceiling of said lab was a scale model of a plane. Charles was very interested. Yes, he was definitely a college graduate.

"It's a supersonic. The most advanced plane ever built." There came a voice, and everyone turned to look at a young man in a lab coat. He looked very awkward under the gazes. "You should see it in real life. It's incredible."

"Hank, these are the special new recruits I was telling you about. This is Hank McCoy, one of our most talented young researchers." Hank looked rather embarrassed at this statement. Charles had already stepped forward to greet the young scientist.

"How wonderful. Another mutant, already here." Charles shook Hank's hand, not seeing how Hank's face went blank in shock. "Why didn't you say?" Charles continued, turning to the CIA agent, who looked a little confused.

"Say what?" Charles sighed, looking ashamed.

"Because you don't know." The telepath turned back to Hank. "I am so, so terribly sorry." Catharina was enjoying this, and couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Erik gave her a funny look, but didn't say anything.

"You didn't ask, so I didn't tell." Hank was saying.

"So your mutation is what, you're super smart?" Raven asked, coming forward to join the rest. Hank's eyes were drawn to her, and stayed there.

"I'll say. Hank here graduated Harvard at the age of 15." That was quite amazing, Catharina had to admit. She glanced up at Erik.

"Did you go to college?" She asked, curiously. Erik shook his head. "Neither did I." She said, sighing. She would've loved to experience it, even if just for a while. Her father had very reluctantly given her some independence a few years ago, at her insistence. That had not been a pleasant argument.

Catharina was drawn back into the present time by Hank starting to take his shoes off. This should be interesting. She leant forward at the same time as Erik did, trying to get a better look. Erik grabbed her shoulders, moving her body so that he could see. Catharina struggled, finally resorting to standing on one of Erik's feet so that he would let go of her.

"Erik!" She whispered, annoyed. Erik smirked at her, before glancing back at Hank and his eyes widening. Catharina followed his gaze, and saw that not only had Hank removed all of his footwear, he had almost hands for feet. Charles was chuckling.

"Splendid." He said, seeming very pleased. There was an awkward pause, where Hank was staring at Raven, but he managed to snap himself out of it, and made everyone back away. He walked until he was underneath the model plane, jumped, and managed to flip himself upside down. This got a reaction out of everyone. Hank held onto the side of the plane with his feet, before spreading his arms.

"Tada!" He said weakly. Raven walked up to him, looking in amazement at his feet.

"You're amazing." She said. Catharina grinned to herself. This was going to be amusing. Hank got himself down, and they all started having a conversation. Even Erik went to join in, so Catharina was alone. She stared up at the plane, wondering what was going to happen. She was either going to be trusted, which was highly doubtful, or she was going to be kept under 'observation', which Catharina knew was basically her being confined to a room for all of eternity. She watched the group for a bit, seeing how they all interacted with one another. It was a great way to pass the time. Hank was centre of attention, which he obviously wasn't used to, but he didn't mind, seeing as he now had a massive crush on Raven. Charles was also very in the conversation, finding out all he could about Hank, both from what he said and from his mind. All the others were just there, and occasionally had something to add.

But finally, they all stopped talking, and they were shown to their rooms. Catharina was once again opposite Raven, and the men were down the corridor from them. Catharina was invited to go and chat with everyone in a sort of common room, but declined. She much rather preferred her own company. It had always been that way, and she wasn't about to change. She relaxed on her bed, feeling rather sleepy. She had been woken up early that morning. Well, early for her. And so, when she closed her eyes, she didn't open them again for a long while.

* * *

"I don't trust her."

"I do. I've heard some of her thoughts when she wasn't concentrating on keeping me out, and if she was going to hurt us, she would have done it by now. Just because Shaw is her father doesn't mean that she's like him."

"Certainly seems like it."

"I know. But just give her a chance. I'll keep an eye on her. Two, if I can spare them. I have a feeling that she will be a great help to us."

* * *

_A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the really long wait! But finally, the next chapter._

_I'm afraid I'm going to put this story on hold for a while. I've kind of lost inspiration, and I don't want to keep writing while I'm like this, or this story will turn really bad. Sorry!_

_I love you all. Please review!_

**§TheMusicalDevil§**


End file.
